Shafali Verma climbs ICC Women’s T20I rankings; Deepti Sharma continues as No. 1 bowler

NEW DELHI: India opener Shafali Verma has once again shown why she is one of the most exciting batters in women’s cricket. After a series of strong performances against Sri Lanka, the 21-year-old has moved up to sixth place in the latest ICC Women’s T20I batting rankings.

Shafali, who was once the world No. 1 batter in T20Is, jumped four spots after scoring runs consistently in the ongoing series.




She played a match-winning knock of 69 not out off just 34 balls in the second T20I. She followed it up with two more unbeaten innings of 79, one off 42 balls and the other off 46 balls, in the third and fourth matches in Thiruvananthapuram.

Her aggressive batting at the top has given India quick starts and put pressure on the Sri Lankan bowlers early in the innings.

India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana also had a positive outing.

After struggling for runs earlier, she returned to form with a smooth 80 in the fourth T20I. Mandhana has managed to hold on to her third position in the ICC rankings. Meanwhile, middle-order batter Jemimah Rodrigues slipped down one place and is now ranked 10th.

In the bowling department, experienced all-rounder Deepti Sharma continues to lead the charts.

She remains the No. 1 T20I bowler in the world. Fellow Indian pacer Renuka Singh Thakur has also made good progress. Renuka climbed eight places to reach joint sixth after her brilliant spell of four wickets for 21 runs in the third match.

Her performance helped India win the game by eight wickets and seal the series.

India’s young left-arm spinners have also impressed. Shree Charani moved up 17 places to reach 52nd position, while Vaishnavi Sharma made a massive jump of 390 places to reach 124th.

This is Vaishnavi’s first international series, and her rise reflects India’s strong bench strength as they prepare for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2026, to be held in England and Wales.

Sri Lankan players also saw some improvement. Opener Hasini Perera moved up 114 places to 71st after steady scores of 22, 25 and 33. All-rounder Kavisha Dilhari also climbed three spots to reach 79th in the batting rankings.

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